In this chapter Myers dwells on the idea of "responsible anarchy" which is a way of saying that community needs to be about individual participation rather than representative participation.
In short, church leadership spends way to much time "getting" people to participate rather than trying to understand "how" people participate.
People want to be a part of something in organic ways and not as a cog in a "master plan".
Healthy organic environments have five elements:
1. People participate as individuals not as teams or groups
2. People participate in a decentralized, local way
3. People participate with the whole of their lives
4. People participate in a way that is congruous with they way they are asked
5. The aggregate of participants becomes "known" as the team or group acts, thinks, and makes decisions.
The above are direct quotes!
When I've been a part of a church-directed group it has almost always felt like "work". It's one more thing on my plate and I have to clear out everything else on my mind or heart to be a part of it. It is a duty not a joy. I realize that this is because I'm being asked to work for someone else's plan and not what I feel I am called to do! I think this is the feeling of the majority of church-folks who are enlisted to check a box on a card to fulfill a need that the church feels but not one to which I am called.
Organic community demands of its leaders to let go of the reins and see where the Spirit is blowing in the gifts and talents of the people who have gathered in that particular space at that particular time.
Well, you might say, how does one measure these things and how can we be accountable to one another?
Thankfully, Myers will address that in the next chapter. What we measure and how we measure it will be a reflection of what we think is important. Are numbers important or are the *stories* important? How much of the Book of Numbers was devoted to numbers and how much to the story of God's relationship with Israel?
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